Hey, hey, hey everyone and welcome to the first episode of Self Published. I’m Aziza Kibibi and I’m an author, an activist on the protections of women and children, a chef, media personality, a mom and a survivor. 

Along with a narrative from my blog Unashamed an open book, some of the things you can expect from this podcast are comments and questions from readers and fans, sidebars of drama from behind the scenes, and tips and advice on self publishing your own stories whether it be as a book, a podcast, a public speaker and some of the many other ways you want to make yourself public to the world. 

Links to resources will be in the show notes and be sure to subscribe for notifications on future episodes. Oh, and one more thing; make sure to follow me on instagram and facebook and subscribe to my YouTube page for inspiring and informational videos on preventing and healing from abuse. 

So now without further ado, thank you for allowing me to grace your eardrums and penetrate your mind; lets do this Brutus.

The post

DEAR READER

So I finished writing the manuscript to my memoir! It's 35 years in the making and 3 years in the writing. Now I'm on to the next phase; publication.

For those that don't know me my name is Aziza Kibibi. Most people think I'm from another country but I am a born and bred Jersey girl!  

I think the best way to introduce myself and explain why I decided to share a memoir with the world is to include a version of the query letter I've been sending out to literary agents. 

But before I do that let me formally introduce you to the theme of this blog.

While I go though the traditional steps of book publishing (which is a long tedious process that takes lots of patience) I will also be moving forward with publishing my book myself. I will share with you on a weekly basis, my trials and triumphs through both these processes as well as events and reflections of my everyday life. 

You can kinda consider this reality television in print. My life has never been what most people call normal, and with an unusual foundation, the building turns out pretty...well...unusual.

With that being said, here is my query letter.

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Dear Literary Agent.

Meet Aziza. She’s a hard working single mom of five beautiful children that she is very proud of. Most men describe her as mysterious, free spirited and charming. Most woman find her confident, smart and witty. But little do they know, is that from ten years old, Aziza was raised as her father’s sex slave. Oh, and the first four of her five children, are also her brother and sisters 

This book is the true story of my life. Beginning in what was the present at the time I started writing, it follows the hospitalization of my fourth child by my father who is physically disabled which was also during the criminal case brought against my father by me and my sisters. My memoir is the tale of how surviving my childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, has shaped me into the woman I am today.I am the eldest of 9 children by my mother, and including my children whom he fathered, the eldest of over twenty-five by my dad. Using events from the present as a vehicle, the history of my life unfolds beginning with the birth of my third child by my father. I describe how my father delivered my children at home, save for one who I gave birth to on a campsite in Florida. I take the reader on a journey through my sheltered life in a polygamous family where I was home schooled, molested, beaten and trained to satisfy my father’s every sexual desire, to how I coped with my husband cheating on me (with one of my sisters) which led to our divorce. 

I describe...